1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to a learning system and method, and more particularly, to an online learning system and method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Individualized non-virtual and virtual learning environments are known. Learning centers have been used to provide individualized non-virtual learning environments to students in brick and mortar classes to achieve educational goals. It is demonstrated that students can excel and improve immensely from the individualized attention offered by private teachers in leaning centers. One such learning center is known as Sylvan Learning Center®, groups of which are managed and/or operated by franchisees and/or corporate entities. Managing and operating some learning centers involve hiring private teachers, performing various diagnostic-assessment tests of students' skill, prescribing individualized learning curriculums, conducting In-center learning sessions, tracking students' progress and making adjustments to prescribed curriculum. Efforts have been made to automate handwritten and paper-and-pencil testing using computer based systems. U.S. Pat. No. 6,146,148, titled “Automated testing and electronic instructional delivery and student management system,” which is hereby incorporated by its entirety, discloses a computer-based diagnostic and prescriptive student assessment system for use in tutoring and supplemental education for expediting academic learning through skill gap closure.
Various types of known virtual learning environments (VLEs) are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,729,885 titled “LEARNING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ENGAGING IN CONCURRENT INTERACTIVE AND NON-INTERACTIVE LEARNING SESSIONS,” U.S. Pat. No. 6,733,296 titled “LEARNING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR HOLDING INCENTIVE-BASED LEARNING,” U.S. Pat. No. 6,804,489 titled “LEARNING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TEACHER LOAD BALANCING,” and U.S. Pat. No. 6,733,295 titled “LEARNING SYSTEM FOR ENABLING SEPARATE TEACHER-STUDENT INTERACTION OVER SELECTED INTERACTIVE CHANNELS,” all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
In such VLEs, one or more teacher workstations and one or more student workstations are connected to each other over a network, e.g., the Internet, allowing teachers to send instructional material and content to students over the network. The teachers can also see what each student is doing on the display of the teacher workstation upon receipt of corresponding text or images from the student workstations. One or more databases accessible over the network store the instructional material along with other teacher, student and responsible authority data using suitably configured data formats and records. The learning environment within each learning session uses learning workspaces in the form of student or teacher workbooks, shared whiteboards, etc.
Also known are interactive learning sessions established within VLEs. During such learning sessions, teachers work on instructional material with students. Via interactive voice channels, for example, a teacher can orally interact with one or more students either independently or concurrently. Non-interactive sessions with students are held separately from interactive sessions. During non-interactive sessions, instructional material presented to the students does not require teacher interactions. A combination of interactive and non-interactive learning sessions can be held with a plurality of students, where a teacher can hold an interactive learning session with one student, while another student engages in a non-interactive learning session. The teacher can switch one or more students from interactive learning sessions to non-interactive learning sessions and vice versa as the teacher sees fit to accommodate students' educational needs.
One conventional VLE uses a client-server-computing model for creating various learning environments during learning sessions. The students and teachers can utilize wired and/or wireless devices that act as client workstations for one or more servers, which serve instructional material via the network. The students, student guardians, teachers and directors may be required to go through a log-in session before engaging in learning sessions or reviewing information such as student grades, progress reports, etc. Other arrangements that do not require a log-in session can also be used.
Web-site access and an intranet access has been used in the past to allow access for teachers, directors, students and parents. A teacher workstation can allow access to various electronic student information to which a teacher-only permission is applied for displaying information about students in upcoming sessions. The teacher workstation can allow access to teacher schedule data with links to a scheduling database that stores scheduling data. Known VLEs support web-sites where learning system participants, e.g., students, teacher, etc., can interact with each other through learning web sites. Examples of learning web sites include teacher site, director site, student site, and guardian or parent site.
Accounting systems that charge student accounts for attending learning sessions are known. However, with increasing sophistication of online learning systems there is a commensurate need to charge student accounts more intelligently.